To the Editor:
I hereby nominate Dr. Jane Grayson for sainthood. All those in favor, say “Aye!”… I was picking up records at Alexandria Hospital and, stopped by the Cancer Center to leave a note for Dr. Grayson just to say, “Hi!” and that I’m doing well. She had a few minutes between appointments and it was so good to see her — the same vivacious dynamo that I used to see routinely before I “graduated” and became an alumnus of the Cancer Institute.
Dr. Grayson is the chief of Radiation Oncology there. And for oh, so many of us who’ve walked reluctantly through those doors, she’s an angel in white. I hadn’t been by in a year or so but just knew she’d always be there, the compassionate, empathetic wonder of a lifeline that I first encountered in 2009 when faced with a dreaded diagnosis. As it turns out, I was wrong. I was stunned, incredulous, angry, horrified, dumbstruck (yes, all of those and more) to learn that she’ll be leaving next month. How any hospital system could let her go is simply beyond belief. I’m devastated that she’s leaving but not to have learned of her departure until afterward would have been worse. It was just happenstance that I stopped in.
I know that there are hundreds (thousands, maybe?) of her patients, past and present, who would want to know she’s leaving and call her, drop her a note to wish her well, or stop by for a hug to thank her and let her know how much she means to us and how sorely she’ll be missed. A letter to the editor was the best way I could think of to get the word out …. Ah, just as I suspected, it’s unanimous — the “Ayes!” have it. Henceforth, she’s “Saint Jane.”
Sherry Caward
Alexandria